What Happened To All Those Draft Picks? Part Two

Yesterday we took a look at what happened to the draft picks the Yankees forfeited as free agent compensation from 1979 to 1985, and today we’ll continue the series by looking at the picks surrendered between 1986 and 1991. Remember to let me know if there’s any missing/incorrect info in any of the posts in this series.

1986 First Round PickFree Agent: Al Holland, LHPForfeited Pick: Terry Carr, OF (Angels)
Looking to upgrade their bullpen, the Yankees imported Holland from the Angels, who had a 2.72 ERA in eight previous seasons in the big leagues. Unfortunately, he didn’t produce as expected, putting up a 6.32 ERA in 47 innings in pinstripes. As compensation for losing Holland, the Angels received the 25th overall pick in the 1986 draft, and used it to selected Maryland high school outfielder Terry Carr. Carr never made it out of A-ball, retiring from baseball in 1990 with a .217 AVG and a .284 SLG in 1,510 career minor league plate appearances.

The Halos also received a supplemental first round pick, taking Texas high school righty Daryl Green 28th overall. Like Carr, Green never made it out of A-ball, and was out of the game by 1992 after posting a 4.09 ERA in 105 starts and 68 relief appearances.

1987 First Round PickFree Agent: Gary Ward, 1B/OFForfeited Pick: Bill Haselman, C (Rangers)
The Yanks brought in Ward off a five year stretch in which he hit .289-.338-.452 with 88 homers and two All Star appearances, though he slumped to a .242-.297-.362 batting line with just 20 homers in a little more than two years in pinstripes. He was cut in late April of 1989. The Yankees sent their first round pick to the Rangers as compensation, and they took UCLA backstop Bill Haselman 23rd overall. Haselman lasted 13 seasons in the big leagues as a backup with the Rangers, Mariners, Red Sox, Rangers (again), Tigers, Rangers (yet again), and Red Sox (again). He retired as a .259-.311-.409 hitter with 47 homers in 1,747 career plate appearances.

The Rangers also received a supplemental first round pick, and used it to take University of Texas righty Mark Petkovsek 29th overall. He bounced around with the Rangers, Pirates, Cardinals, Angels, and Rangers (again) for nine years, putting up a 4.73 ERA and a 358-222 K/BB ratio in 41 starts and 349 relief appearances.

1987 Second Round PickFree Agent: Rick Cerone, CForfeited Pick: Curt Krippner, RHP (Brewers)
Two years after trading him to Atlanta for Brian Fisher, the Yankees brought Cerone back as a free agent in 1987 for the second of three stints in the Bronx. He hit .243-.320-.335 with four homers in 327 plate appearances before signing with the Red Sox in the offseason. As compensation for losing Cerone, the Yankees sent the 55th overall pick to Milwaukee, which they used to take University of Texas righthander Curt Krippner. He played four season in the Brewers’ system, putting up a 4.54 ERA with a 374-207 K/BB ratio in 60 starts and seven relief appearances. Krippner was out of baseball by 1992, and didn’t make it out of A-ball.

1988 First Round PickFree Agent: Jack Clark, 1BForfeited Pick: John Ericks, RHP (Cardinals)
Clark came to the Yankees fresh off a season in which he hit .286-.459-.597 with 35 homers for the Cardinals, earning a spot on the All Star Team and finishing behind only Andre Dawson and Ozzie Smith in the NL MVP race. Clark was productive in his one year with the Yanks, though not as productive as he had been in years past. He hit .242-.381-.433 with 27 homers, and was traded to the Padres in the offseason for a package of three young players.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals received the 22nd overall pick for losing Clark, taking University of Illinois righty John Ericks. He spent seven years in the minors before reaching the big leagues with the Pirates, making 22 starts and 25 relief appearances with a 4.78 ERA and a 132-73 K/BB ratio over the course of three years. With their supplemental first round pick, the Cards took University of Richmond outfielder Brian Jordan 30th overall. Jordan hit .282-.333-.455 with 184 homers in a 15 season big league career.

1988 Second Round PickFree Agent: Jose Cruz, OFForfeited Pick: Dave Silvestri, SS (Astros)
Signed at the end of his long and extremely productive career, Cruz hit just .200-.273-.263 in 88 plate appearances with the Yanks before being released in late-July. For signing Cruz, the Yankees send the 52nd overall pick to Houston as compensation, and watched the Astros take University of Missouri shortstop Dave Silvestri.

Silvestri was dealt to the Yankees in a minor trade prior to the 1990 season, and made his big league debut with them in 1992. He hit just .192-.315-.411 in parts of three seasons in the Bronx before being traded to Montreal for a minor leaguer. Silvestri managed to last eight years in the big leagues as a utility player, hitting .202-.315-.310 with stops in four different cities after being traded by the Yanks.

1988 Third Round PickFree Agent: John Candelaria, LHPForfeited Pick: Derrick Warren, OF (Mets)
A longtime Pirate, Candelaria joined the Yankees in 1988 and made 30 starts (and 17 relief appearances) with a 3.80 ERA and a 158-35 K/BB ratio. He was shipped to Montreal during the 1989 season for Mike Blowers. With the 79th overall pick that they received as compensation for losing Candelaria, the Mets draft Florida high school outfielder Derrick Warren. Warren played just one year in the minors – for the Mariners in 1992 – and hit .139-.271-.194 in just 28 games. I have no idea what happened in between.

1989 First Round PickFree Agent: Steve Sax, 2BForfeited Pick: Kiki Jones, RHP (Dodgers)
After a Rookie of the Year award and an eight year stint with the Dodgers, Sax came to the Bronx for three years and hit .294-.342-.376 with 19 homers. He made the All Star Team twice, and was eventually traded to the White Sox for Melido Perez and two young pitchers named Domingo Jean and Bob Wickman. The Dodgers received the 15th overall pick in the 1989 draft as compensation, which they used to take Florida high school righty Kiki Jones. Jones spent five years in the minors, compiling a 3.74 ERA in 53 starts. He was out of the game for four years before making a brief comeback in the Devil Rays system that saw him post a 5.55 ERA in eight starts and 15 relief appearances.

Los Angeles also received a supplemental first round pick, taking University of Florida righthander Jamie McAndrew 28th overall. McAndrew appeared in eight games (two starts) for the Brewers in the mid-90’s, putting up a 5.98 ERA with a 27-35 K/BB ratio.

1990 Second Round PickFree Agent: Pascual Perez, RHPForfeited Pick: Tavo Alvarez, RHP (Expos)
Perez started just 17 games in two seasons with the Yankees, though he posted a 2.87 ERA with a 53-27 K/BB ratio when he did pitch. As compensation for losing him, the Expos received the 50th overall pick, using it to take righty Tavo Alvarez out of an Arizona high school. After steadily climbing the ladder, Alvarez reached the big leagues with Montreal in 1995, posting a 5.40 ERA in a short Major League career that lasted just 13 starts and six relief appearances.

With the supplemental first round pick they received, the Expos selected Indiana high school southpaw Ben Van Ryan, who played for four teams despite making just 26 relief appearances (5.74 ERA) in the big leagues.

1991 Second Round PickFree Agent: Steve Farr, RHPForfeited Pick: Ryan Long, 3B (Royals)
The Yankees got three productive years out of Farr, a longtime Royals’ reliever. In 159 games over three seasons in pinstripes, Farr pitched to a 2.56 ERA with a 136-67 K/BB ratio. The Yanks forfeited the 45th overall pick to Kansas City to sign him, and they used it to take Texas high school third baseman Ryan Long. Long spent ten seasons in the minors, hitting .260-.295-.415 with 104 homers for three different organizations. He reached the big leagues briefly with the Royals in 1997, picking up two hits in nine at-bats.

Kansas City also received a supplemental first round pick, taking North Carolina high school righty Jason Pruitt 30th overall. Pruitt spend just two seasons in the Royals’ system, compiling a 5.01 ERA and a 75-97 K/BB ratio in 32 starts and four relief appearances.